Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
Rating: 10|Votes: 3
And she was so profoundly shaken by this experience that she left all that had been her life, retired into the desert, and with a life which the service books define as ‘extreme’, fought to conquer her flesh, her soul, her memories - everything that was sin, but also everything that could lead her away from God. And we know how glorious her life was, the kind of person she became.
Abba Dorotheos
Rating: 7,7|Votes: 10
The Holy Apostles established and committed to us as a help and benefaction for our souls something yet greater and more exalted--that we should set apart a tenth portion of the very days of our lives and devote them to God. Thereby might we also receive a blessing for all our deeds, and yearly cleanse the sins we have committed over the course of the whole year.
Rating: 10|Votes: 23
Wherefore, enter ye all into the joy of your Lord; Receive your reward, both the first, and likewise the second. You rich and poor together, hold high festival! You sober and you heedless, honour the day! Rejoice today, both you who have fasted and you who have disregarded the fast. The table is full-laden; feast ye all sumptuously. The calf is fatted; let no one go hungry away. Enjoy ye all the feast of faith: receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness.
Vincent Martini
Rating: 7,5|Votes: 10
Notice that Christ mentions the discipline of fasting as a foregone conclusion for his followers. We also see that fasting is pointless if it is not done with the right spirit. Those who fast “publicly” and with great “fanfare” have received their reward, and it is both temporal and fleeting. True fasting is a relational and Spiritual discipline that affects one’s whole person and transforms one into the likeness of Christ.
Rating: 10|Votes: 1
How is the house of the soul built? We can learn this by observing how a material house is built. For he who wishes to build such a house much fortify all around by building walls on all four sides, and not concern himself with one side only, neglecting the other three. Otherwise he will derive no benefit at all, but will waste everything in vain—his intention, expense, and labor. So does it happen also with the soul: for a man who desires to build a house of the soul should not neglect a single wall of his building, but should erect it evenly and harmoniously.
